Theory of Karma

Theory of Karma

“All Living Beings have Karma as their Own”

What is Karma ?

Karma in Sanskrit and Kamma in Pali literary means Action. In its general sense Karma means good and bad actions. It covers all kinds of intentional actions whether mental, verbal or physical – Thoughts, Words, Deeds. According to Buddha “Mental volition is what I call Action (Kamma). Having Volition one acts by Body, Speech and Thought”.

Karma is not a moral justice. If one takes it as moral justice, then there is a suggestion that someone is sitting in judgment over beings. There is no one who makes judgments over the doings of beings. There is just the moral law of Karma. Just as Karma is not moral judgment, so it is not reward or punishment. According to the law of Karma, if you do good deeds, you get good results, and if you do bad deeds, you get bad results. However, these good and bad results are not given by anyone and are not given as reward and punishment. Karma is a moral law, which needs no lawgiver. As we sow, so we reap somewhere and sometime, in this life or in future birth. What we reap today is what we have sown either in the present or in the past. Karma is a law in itself which operates in its own field without the intervention of any external, independent ruling agency.

The law, which operates naturally like any other law of Physics. Inherent in Karma is the potentiality of producing its due effect. The cause produces the effect, the effect explains the cause. The seed produces the fruit, the fruit explains the seed; such is their relationship.

In the working of Karma its most important feature is MIND. All our words and deeds are colored by the Mind or Consciousness we experience at such particular moment. When the Mind is unguarded, Speech and Bodily actions are unguarded and when the Mind is guarded, Speech and Bodily actions are guarded. This is very easy to understand all we have to do is to see a person who is heavily under the influence of Alcohol or Drugs and we will understand. As the Mind is the determining factor for Karma it is not possible to “fool the system” by way of false speech or false actions. It is mind that either defiles or purifies one. The Mind in fact is both the bitterest enemy and the greatest friend of oneself.

When a mother tells the child “ Be Good and you will be happy and we will love you. But if you are bad, you will be unhappy and we will not love you” it is the inherent doctrine of Karma that the mother is teaching the child.

Similarity with Physics

It is very similar to the Newtonian laws of Physics where Action is equal to Reaction. The Newtonian law applies in case of Non Living Matter. The law of Karma, which applies to living beings operates on a similar line but in this case it has various different colors and shades also in many instances delayed reactions to actions. Since there are various types of Actions and as a results there are as many types of Reactions. Also there is a varied time delay between Action and it's Reaction. This makes it very difficult for us to understand the Laws of Karma as opposed to the Newtonian Laws of Action equal to Reaction. The law does not depend upon whether you believe in Hinduism or Buddhism or Jainism. They are the religious philosophy, which has tried to explain the law but working of the law is independent of one's belief in the religious philosophy. Just as the Laws of Action equal to Reaction does not hold true only for Christians since the man who discovered these laws was a Christian.

Major events are predestined but interpretation of events is in your hands .

Karma is neither fatalism nor a doctrine of predetermination. The past influences the present but does not dominate it, for Karma is past as well as Present. The past and present influence the future; the past is background against which life goes on from moment to moment, the future is yet to come. Only the present moment for good or for bad lies with each individual.

Just as it was predestined for us to have our son with these disabilities since we had done Bad Karmas in our previous life. But after having a son with so many disabilities how to live the life was very much in our hand. We could have taken a path of heavy negativity towards life and become very resentful or jealous of others who have normal kids. Instead we chose the path of proper understanding as to why we had a son like this and then learnt a lesson from that.

Karma does not necessarily mean past actions. It embraces both past and present deeds. Hence, in one sense, we are the result of what we were and we will be the result of what we are. In another sense, it should be added, we are not totally the result of what we were and we will not be absolutely the result of what we are. The present is no doubt the off spring of the past and is the parent of the future, but the present is not always a true index of either the past or the future – so complex is the working of the Karma. For instance, a criminal today may be saint tomorrow, a good person yesterday may be a vicious one today.

Every action produces an effect and it is a cause first and effect afterward, we therefore can say Karma is the “Law of Cause and Effect”. Throwing a stone for example, is an action. The stone strikes a glass window and breaks it. Breaking is the effect of the action of throwing, but it is not an end. The broken window is now the cause of further trouble. Some money will have to go to replace it, which in turn may cause disappointment since that money was saved to buy some thing else which the owner of the window always desired to buy. This may make one irritable, and if one is not careful one may allow irritability to become the cause of doing something else, which may be wrong and so on and so forth.

How do you account for the unevenness in this ill balanced World ?

This is the only law, which tries to explain the inequalities that exists among mankind.

Why should one be brought in the lap of luxury, endowed with excellent mind, mental, moral and physical qualities, and another in an absolute poverty, in abject misery? Why should one be born a Millionaire or Billionaire and another a pauper? Why should one be a mental prodigy and another an idiot? Why should one be born with saintly characteristics and another with criminal tendencies? Why should some be linguistic, artist, mathematicians and musician from the cradle? Why should others be congenitally blind, deaf and deformed? Why should some be blessed and others be cursed from their birth?

Either there is a definite cause of these inequalities. If there is not, the inequalities is purely accidental or by chance. No sensible person would think of attributing these inequalities to blind chance or pure accident. The nature, which is so well balanced in all the aspect so far known to human beings would leave such a major thing like this on a sheer chance or coincidence? I certainly do not believe this and no person of scientific bent of mind would believe this. Science itself is indeed all against the theory of “Chance”. In the World of science things work in accordance with the laws of cause and effect.

The philosophy of “We the Good Guys and They the Bad Guys” is good for Hollywood / Bollywood movies where good guys win at the end and the bad guy looses like in the James Bond Movies or a usual Bollywood movie. In the real life it is not so simple as White or Black there are various shades of Grey and Theory of Karma explains this. If the reader does not agree with the theory it would be nice to know the other plausible theory, which will explain the whole complex situation that exists in the World around us except of course the theory of sheer chance.

How the difference are being explained in the Theory of Karma.

Why some people have short life

For Example, If the person destroys life, is a killer or a hunter, besmears his hands with blood and is engaged in killing, and is not merciful towards living being, he as a result of his killings will be short-lived. Killing means intentional destruction of any living being which breaths. The wanton destruction of this life-force, without allowing it to run its due course is killing. Plants are not included since they do not possess the mind.

The following five conditions are necessary to complete the evil of killings

• Living Being
• Knowledge that it is a living being
• Intention of killing
• Effort to kill
• Consequent death.

The gravity of the evil Karma depends upon the goodness and magnitude of being killed. The killing of virtuous person or a big animal is regarded as more heinous than the killing of a vicious person or a small animal, because greater effort is needed to commit the evil and loss involved is greater. The Man made Laws for Capital Punishment operates on similar type of logic. For Ex. The First Degree Murder, Second Degree murder etc.

The evil effects of killing are : brevity of life, ill health, constant grief due to the separation of loved ones and constant fear.

On the other hand if the person avoids killings, leaves asides weapon and is merciful and compassionate towards living beings, he, as a result of his non-killing will be long lived.

Why some people are sick for long time

For Example, If the person is in the habit of harming others physically with weapon or emotionally as a result of his harmfulness will suffer from various diseases. Also if the persons wishes ill for other people would end up in the same situation. He would have detestable nature beside suffering from sickness.

On the other hand if the person does not harm others physically or emotionally and also not think about harming other and is harmless then he will enjoy Healthy life.

Why Some people or say Many people are poor

When a person steals the inevitable consequence of stealing are poverty, misery, disappointment, and dependent livelihood.

Five conditions are necessary for the completion of the evil of stealing, namely

• Another's Property
• Knowledge that it is so,
• Intention of Stealing
• Effort to steal
• Actual Removal

How to be Rich in Next Life

For Example, If a person does not give anything for charity, he as a result of his greediness when born again will lead a poor life.

On the other hand if the person does the charity, he as a result of his generosity when born again will have lots of money. Now the charity is considered not only in terms of amount of money donated but also the percentage of one's wealth being donated. Poor man even though donates a small amount but a large percentage of his wealth will be born with lots of wealth in his next life.

Persons Like Bill Gates or Warren Buffets are not only very wealthy in this life but will surely be very wealthy in their next life due to the fact that they have donated large some of money in this life.

Interestingly if the person after giving charity regrets about giving such charity then in the next life will have money but will not be able to enjoy the money for himself. The money of course he will have but he will not be able to spend. This explains why many rich people who can't spend money on themselves or on others.

Why some people go thru many divorces or do not have happy Marriage

Sexual misconduct is the root cause of divorces and unhappy marriages. Persons who have abandoned their spouses in the previous life or have not been faithful to them invariably go thru the process in this life.

Four conditions are necessary to complete the evil of sexual misconduct, namely

• The thought to enjoy
• Consequent effort
• Means to Gratify
• Gratification

About Friendship :

Person who has done slandering in the previous life will end up having a situation that he will not have good friends or friends will leave him without any reason.

Four conditions are necessary to complete the evil of slandering, namely

• Persons who are to be divided
• The intention to separate them or the desire to endear oneself to another.
• Corresponding effort
• Communication

How to be beautiful in next Life

For Example. If a person is wrathful and turbulent or an angry man, irritated by trivial words, gives went to anger, ill-will and resentment, he, as a result of his irritability will become ugly in next life.

On the other hand, if the person is not wrathful and turbulent, is not irritated even by a torrent of abuse, does not give vent to anger, ill-will and resentment, he as a result of his amiability will become beautiful in the next life.

Dalai Lama has explained this beautifully

“Physical body is reflection of the past and Mind is a reflection of the future” .

How to become powerful

For Example, If the person is jealous, envies the gain of others, marks of respect shown to others, stores jealousy in his heart, he as a result of his jealously will be powerless.

On the other hand If the person is not jealous, does not envy the gains of others, marks of respect shown to others, does not store jealousy in his heart, he as a result of his absence of jealousy will be powerful.

The Intelligent or the Wise Person

If the person does not approach the learned and virtuous in order to find out what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong, what should be practiced and what should not be. Due to his sprit of lack of inquiry when he is reborn he will be born ignorant.

On the other hand – if a person does approach the learned and the virtuous and make inquiries in the above manner, he as a result of this inquiring spirit when reborn will be an intelligent person.

To reborn in a High / Rich family

If a person is stubborn, haughty, does not honor the learned people, he as a result of his arrogance and irreverence when reborn will be of low-birth.

On the other hand If the person is not stubborn, not haughty, honors those who are worthy of honors, he as a result of his humility and deference when reborn will be high birth.

This explains why some people are born with a silver/golden spoon and they do not have to struggle so much in this life and on the other hand some people have to struggle all through out their life. For ex. You just have to be born in Gandhi/Nehru family in India and you have a very high probability of becoming the Prime Minister. May be in near future India will see the 4 th Prime Minister from this line of family. This does not mean they are/were not capable in fact as per the theory of Karma they must have done some very strong Karmas as mentioned above so that they are born in this family.